South Shore mom makes a big splash with Boston Duck Tours

Thursday

Jul 10, 2014 at 12:01 AMJul 10, 2014 at 12:52 PM

Jen Mauceri of Scituate, also known as Florence “Flo” Waters, is a Boston Duck Tour driver.

By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

With her towering 6-foot, 1 3/4-inch frame, thick Boston accent, saucy attitude, raven hair, and a flair for comedy, Jen Mauceri of Scituate could easily be on stage telling jokes or a larger-than-life screen character. Instead, she’s a duck boat driver, leading locals and tourists around Boston with her “wicked” charm.

“Any fights break out and I’m calling you,” Mauceri tells a passenger from Eastie. “Fresh, aren’t I?” she says, setting the tone for a laugh-filled ride through the streets of Boston.

Mauceri, who can say “hello” in every language, promises “the next 65 minutes will change your life.”

Her conDUCKtor alter ego is Florence “Flo” Waters, a harried housewife dressed in a yellow-and-black apron with matching kerchief tied around her head. “I drive a duck to feed people that are not nice to me,” Mauceri says in character, joking during a tour.

A recent 65-minute excursion that departed in front of the New England Aquarium was a near-sellout as the jaunts remain a popular draw for tourists and local families. The sightseeing tour starts on land then continues on water, where Flo lets the youngsters drive – OK, steer – the amphibious vehicle on the Charles River.

With its candy-colored fleet of duck boats rolling through the city, Boston Duck Tours has been making a splash all over the city for 20 years. The other two departure sites are at the Museum of Science and at the Prudential Center.

You might feel silly riding on amphibious vehicles with names such as Faneuil Holly, Fenway Fanny or a stars-and-stripes number called Old Gloria. Flo usually drives the pink Penelope Pru, but this day she’s aboard the purple North End Norma. You might feel sillier shouting “quack, quack” to passers-by, but – bird noises aside – getting a duck’s-eye view of the city is pretty cool.

The tours include a humorous yet informative narration pointing out facts about the city, along with an ample amount of its fables and legends.

As we head down Tremont Street, Flo, takes a moment to point out the The Beantown Pub, which is across the street from the Granary Burying Ground, final resting place for Paul Revere and John Hancock and other notable patriots whom she calls the “Big Dogs.”

“That is the only place in the world where you can drink a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams,” she said. Rim-shot.

Quacking along, Flo drives past the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, through Government Center and over toward the north side of Beacon Hill, which she points out is a “no-quack zone.”

The vehicles can carry 36 passengers and enter and leave the Charles River at North Point Park near the Museum of Science. The transition from land to water is the most exciting part. Anticipation grows as the propeller powers up. We’re ready to launch. Flo calls out for a loud “quack-quack” before the duck splashes down in the Charles River and floats past landmarks like the Hatch Shell while we enjoy skyline views of Boston and Cambridge. “Isn’t this romantic? It’s just the 36 of us,” Flo quips.

The name “duck boat” is derived from DUKW, the acronym given to a six-wheeled amphibious vehicle developed by General Motors during World War II. The “ducks” were used by the Army and Marine Corps to ferry ammunition and supplies from ships to shore during the invasions of Normandy and Sicily. Eventually they were phased out and have been modified to cater to the tourism industry.

At the end of the tour, Flo announces: “The goal is: I come back with everyone I left with, and that you’ve all laughed and learned one new thing.”

Mauceri started at Boston Duck Tours in 2011. She had to audition and then train for a period before “hatching.” Learning all the history was tough, she admitted. “I have a rep for being the funniest, not the most historic,” Mauceri said. Her first driving season was in 2012. She once drove for UPS and spends most of her days shuttling her three children around the South Shore in her minivan.

“I’m always driving, to swim practice, the barbershop, school. I’m behind the wheel of a moving vehicle 14 hours a day,” she said.

Mauceri said she uses her personal life as fodder for her duck-driving act. “There’s a lot of humor in life,” she said. “The beauty of comedy is that the older you get the funnier you get. I play the part of the harried housewife because my kids drive me crazy. They are in fifth, seventh and 10th grade and it’s hard enough to just keep them out of jail,” she said laughing. “My 10-year-old just locked my keys in the running vehicle.”

A word of caution for parents: Duck whistles are for sale for $4, and nearly every kid on the tour had one, including mine. Those loud whistles, which will turn your child into a living Donald Duck, were the only thing on the tour that was for the birds. Otherwise, the duck boat ride was all it’s quacked up to be.

Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@ledger.com or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.